The Medal of Honor

Officially called the Congressional Medal of Honor, it is the nation's
highest military award for “uncommon valor” by men and women
in the armed forces. It is given for actions that are above and beyond the
call of duty in combat against an armed enemy. The first medal was awarded
on March 25, 1863. More than 3,450 men have been awarded the medal, as
well as one woman, Dr. Mary Walker, a surgeon in the Civil War. Recipients
of the medal are awarded $400 per month for life, a right to burial at
Arlington National Cemetery, admission for them or their children to a
service academy (if they qualify and quotas permit), and free travel on
government aircraft. In May 2011, there were 110 Medal of Honor
recipients living.

Medal of Honor Recipients

Total1

Army

Navy

Marines

Coast Guard

Air Force

Civilian

Civil War

1,522

1,196

305

17

—

—

4

Noncombat, 1865–1870

13

1

12

—

—

—

—

Indian Wars (1861–1898)

426

422

—

—

—

—

4

Korea (1871)

15

—

9

6

—

—

—

Noncombat, 1871–1899

106

—

104

2

—

—

—

Spanish-American War

110

31

64

15

—

—

—

Samoa

4

—

1

3

—

—

—

Philippines

80

69

5

6

—

—

—

China

59

4

22

33

—

—

—

Noncombat, 1901–1910

49

1

46

2

—

—

—

Philippines (1911)

6

1

5

—

—

—

—

Mexican Campaign (1914)

56

1

46

9

—

—

—

Haiti (1915)

6

—

—

6

—

—

—

Noncombat, 1915–1916

8

—

8

—

—

—

—

Dominican Republic

3

—

—

3

—

—

—

World War I

124

95

21

8

—

—

—

Haiti (1919–1920)

2

—

—

2

—

—

—

Nicaragua (1927–1933)

2

—

—

2

—

—

—

Noncombat, 1920–1940

17

1

15

1

—

—

—

World War II

464

324

57

82

1

—

—

Korean War

136

87

7

42

—

—

—

Vietnam War

247

160

16

57

—

14

—

Somalia (1993)

2

2

—

—

—

—

—

War on Terror (Iraq, Afghanistan)

8

5

2

1

—

—

—

Unknown Soldiers

9

9

—

—

—

—

—

Total

3,466

2,404

745

297

1

14

8

1. These totals reflect the total number
of Medals of Honor awarded through May 2, 2011. Nineteen men received a second
award, and 5 of these double awardees received both the Army and Navy
Medals of Honor for the same action.